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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
South Arundel Citizens for Responsible )
Development )
Licensee of Station WRYR-LP )
Sherwood, Maryland ) File No. EB-03-HS-020
)
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: November 25, 2003 Released: November 25,
2003
By the Director, Office of Homeland Security, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. On October 6, 2003, the South Arundel Citizens for
Responsible Development (South Arundel), on behalf of WRYR-LP, a
low power FM station in Sherwood, Maryland, filed a request for a
24-month waiver of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) requirements
as set forth in section 11.11 of the rules of the Federal
Communications Commission (Commission).1 For the reasons
indicated below, we grant South Arundel a six month extension of
the EAS rules.
2. Section 11.11(a) requires Low Power FM (LPFM) stations
to install a Commission-certified EAS decoder or decoder/encoder
by October 24, 2003.2 In 2002, the Commission granted LPFM
stations a temporary blanket waiver of the requirement in the EAS
rules that LPFM stations install FCC-certified decoders, because
at that time, there were no FCC-certified EAS decoders on the
market.3 The Commission also amended the EAS rules to exempt
LPFM stations from installing FCC-certified decoders until one
year after the Commission published a Public Notice in the
Federal Register indicating that at least one decoder has been
certified.4 On September 19, 2002, the Commission released a
Public Notice indicating that there was one manufacturer that
offered an FCC-certified decoder.5 Thus, LPFM stations were
required to be EAS compliant by October 24, 2003.
3. The Commission has stated that it would grant case-by-
case waivers of the EAS rules to LPFM stations that made a
showing of financial hardship. The Commission indicated that
waiver requests must contain at least the following information:
(1) justification for the waiver, with reference to the
particular rule sections for which a waiver is sought; (2)
information about the financial status of the requesting entity,
such as a balance sheet and income statement for the two previous
years (audited, if possible); (3) the number of other entities
that serve the requesting entity's coverage area and that have or
are expected to install EAS equipment; and (4) the likelihood
(such as proximity or frequency) of hazardous risks to the
requesting entity's audience.6
III. DISCUSSION
4. South Arundel filed a request for a temporary, 24-month
waiver of section 11.11(a) for Station WRYR-LP on October 6,
2003. In support of its waiver request, South Arundel states
that WRYR-LP is a community non-profit radio station with no
advertising or other income sources and that it is operated by
volunteers and funded by donations from the community. According
to South Arundel, the one available EAS decoder for LPFM stations
would cost $1,800. South Arundel asserts that this cost would
impose a financial hardship on the station and provides financial
statements in support of this assertion. South Arundel does not
mention any other stations in the WRYR-LP coverage area that have
installed EAS equipment or expect to do so, but does note that
WRYR-LP has been able to report emergency events as part of its
day-to-day live programming (specifically, Hurricane Isabel), and
would continue to do so.
5. Given WRYR-LP's modest budget and all volunteer work
force, we believe that it would impose an unnecessary financial
burden to require WRYR-LP immediately to install an EAS decoder.
However, WRYR-LP has been on notice for over a year that it is
obligated to install an EAS decoder, and, as indicated in its
2003 financial statements, has been able to budget $12,200.00 for
equipment during this time. As a result, we believe that the
financial hardship that would result from requiring WRYR-LP to
install an $1,800.00 EAS decoder is not of sufficient magnitude
to justify a 24-month extension. South Arundel has not shown
that any other station within its coverage area has EAS
capability, and its efforts to supply emergency information to
its listeners, while laudable, are not a sufficient substitute
for complying with the EAS requirements. Under these
circumstances, we believe that six months is sufficient time for
WRYR-LP to install an EAS decoder, and accordingly grant WRYR-LP
an additional six months from the date of the initial October 24,
2003 deadline to comply with the Commission's EAS rules.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Sections 0.111,
0.204(b) and 0.311 of the Commission's rules,7 that the request
of South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development for a
waiver of section 11.11(a) of the rules station WRYR-LP, is
GRANTED, consistent with the discussion and conclusions in this
Order.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that WRYR-LP, place a copy of
this waiver in its station files.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall
be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to Chris E.
Pokorski, Station Manager, WRYR-LP, and P.O. Box 205, Churchton,
Maryland 20733.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
James A. Dailey
Director
Office of Homeland Security
Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 11.11.
2 Id., n. 2.
3 Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission's Rules Regarding the
Emergency Alert System, Report and Order, EB Docket No. 01-66, 17
FCC Rcd 4055 (2002).
4 Id. at 4084.
5 See Notice Regarding Certification of EAS Decoder, DA-02-2312,
Public Notice, 67 Fed. Reg. 65321 (Oct. 24, 2002).
6 Creation of Low Power Radio Service, Report and Order, MM
Docket 99-25, 15 FCC Rcd 2205 (2000).
7 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311.